Category Archives: Photographs: Portugal

Overlooking The Duoro

Overlooking The Duoro
The Duoro River winding through Porto, Portugal on a hazy afternoon.

You would be wrong if you thought that I had shared all of the photographs from our 2023 Europe travels! I came back with more than 5000 image files. I’ve traversed the full set a few times, and there are a lot more photographs there for me to finalize. This one comes from our stay in Porto, Portugal, on a warm late afternoon when a random walk took us past this viewpoint above the Duoro River, at a park where the locals were hanging out.

We wander quite a bit when we travel. In fact, just plain walking around and discovering things is probably our favorite activity. This has some downsides — sometimes our approach means that we miss important things. But there are benefits: we see things that folks on the usual tourist itinerary may miss, sometimes we end up talking to people, and we have an experience that is closer to discovering (rather than being led to) things.


G Dan Mitchell is a California photographer and visual opportunist. His book, “California’s Fall Color: A Photographer’s Guide to Autumn in the Sierra” is available from Heyday Books, Amazon, and directly from G Dan Mitchell.

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In the Shadows

In the ShadowsIn the Shadows
A couple walks though Donostia-San Sebastian at night.

In the Shadows. © Copyright 2023 G Dan Mitchell.

A couple walks though Donostia-San Sebastian at night.

This photograph comes from our visit to Donostia/San Sebastián this past summer. We were there for a few days, coinciding with the Tour de France ending a stage there and then passing through the town a second time the next day. Needless to say, that added a bit of extra excitement. Aside from its other attractions, the town is known for its “pinxtos” cuisine — a sor of Basque tapas tradition — and on this evening we were out to enjoy this wonderful food.

While portions of this area of San Sebastián can be quite lively at night, around the fringes there are some surprisingly quiet corners. This scene was at the edge of a square surrounded by closely-spaced buildings, and I had initially stopped to photograph the arches when this couple strolled through the scene.


G Dan Mitchell is a California photographer and visual opportunist. His book, “California’s Fall Color: A Photographer’s Guide to Autumn in the Sierra” is available from Heyday Books, Amazon, and directly from G Dan Mitchell.

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Columns and Shadows

Columns and Shadows
Soft light on columns near Ingreja Da Graca, Lisbon.

Columns and Shadows. © Copyright 2023 G Dan Mitchell.

Soft light on columns near Ingreja Da Graca, Lisbon.

This is perhaps not quite a typical Lisbon photograph, and it came about as a result of one of our semi-random walks — something that characterizes our travel. We, wandered downhill to a central square, crossed and began ascending, and eventually turned toward the hill topped by the St. George Castle. We climbed up to it, but decided not to join the tourist throng inside, preferring to wander around the periphery… and that led us to this nearby convent and church. (The full name is longer than what I’ve used here, by the way.)

After wandering through the beautiful church, we walked around the grounds of the convent, a quiet and not-very-busy place that contrasted with what we had experienced earlier in the day. These columns, in lovely soft light, lined a walkway around an inner courtyard.


G Dan Mitchell is a California photographer and visual opportunist. His book, “California’s Fall Color: A Photographer’s Guide to Autumn in the Sierra” is available from Heyday Books, Amazon, and directly from G Dan Mitchell.

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Links to Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Information.

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Souvenir Vendor, Lisbon

Souvenir Vendor, Lisbon
Vendor in front of his shop along a street below the Sao Jorge Castle, Lisbon.

Souvenir Vendor, Lisbon. © Copyright 2023 G Dan Mitchell.

Vendor in front of his shop along a street below the Sao Jorge Castle, Lisbon.

We walked a lot during our 2023 visit to Lisbon, Portugal. Hey, walking is what we do when we travel! It may limit the distance you can cover a bit, but we think that we see a lot more of the places we go to when we walk. Lisbon is an interesting walking city. It is easy to walk many places, though there are two things to think about. First, it is a big city, and some of the more far-flung attractions are far away. (There is decent transit however.) Second, there are a lot of hills! Some are steep enough that even going down them can be a test.

On this day our goal was the St. George Castle, on the top of one of the hills overlooking the city. From our lodgings we walked down to central Lisbon and then started up the climb on the other side. Soon, as we reached the base of the hill we were to ascend, we encountered lots of ways to avoid the climb — if you were willing to pay for a lift up the hill. We pondered for maybe five seconds and then decided to walk. Walking is harder, for sure, and it is slower. But the latter is actually a benefit. When walking we see lots of things that we would miss on a tram or a tug-tuk ride. I photographed this little souvenir shop along the walk toward the castle.


G Dan Mitchell is a California photographer and visual opportunist. His book, “California’s Fall Color: A Photographer’s Guide to Autumn in the Sierra” is available from Heyday Books, Amazon, and directly from G Dan Mitchell.

Blog | About | Twitter | Flickr | FacebookEmail

Links to Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Information.

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All media © Copyright G Dan Mitchell and others as indicated. Any use requires advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.